Eternity can suck when it’s all work, work, work. Death harvests souls even when they stack up faster than pancakes in an all-you-can-eat-buffet. No wonder she can’t shed the Grim Reaper rep.

As the patron angel of death and dying, Azrael works closely with Death but is dying for true intimacy. She’s the only immortal who’s ever aroused such powerful emotions in him. One taste of her leaves him needing her like humans need air and food, but will a demon’s lies leave a bad taste?

No one escapes Death – except King Sisyphus. Twice. With the help of Damien the demon, Sisyphus tries again, and she’s determined to have justice. Some say Death’s a bitch, but only when she has to be. But will the price of justice be a broken heart?

Short Excerpt Death is a Bitch

Death stepped from the shadowy curtain of night along a deserted stretch of road toward the mangled hunk of cherry-red metal that used to be a sweet Z240 sports car. Stardust glinted in the black hair that dipped to her waist.

She kept a safe distance from the wreck. Inside, a thirtyish man slumped behind the wheel, the air bag deflating away from his near-lifeless body. Blood oozed from a nasty gash to his head. Should have worn his seat belt. Too late for life lessons, though. Those weren’t her expertise anyway. Just the opposite.

Leaves crackled in the underbrush beyond the nearby trees. Death gripped the silver charm bracelet on her wrist, her senses on high alert. Her finger poised near the hidden latch, ready to release a stream of lightning.

A deer. It stilled, its wide eyes fixed on her.

Seeing nothing else, she continued with a modicum of caution. Taking souls didn’t exactly make her popular, and after so many millennia, she should’ve been used to it. The bad jokes. The Halloween parodies. A scythe? Please. She’d never used cheap props. Only the finest weaponry. No mortal ever suspected the intricately designed baubles adorning her bracelet were anything more than ornamental.

Moonlight gleamed off the curves of the sports car, and she ran a gilded nail along its hood. She wouldn’t mind taking one of these babies for a spin. In its former condition, of course, before this guy took the curve too fast and wrapped it around a tree. Humans always rushed everywhere, sometimes straight into her arms.

The man’s moan signaled she had no need for weapons. This one would give her no trouble. She fingered his blond hair, matted with blood. What a shame. So young, and so handsome. He’d leave at least one lover grieving, no doubt.

His eyes fluttered open. When he looked up, recognition intensified the flicker of life in his eyes.

She needed no introduction. They always knew her, unmistakable in the glimmering black filament gown, its folds revealing a glimpse into infinity.

The stilettos usually earned a second glance, the four-inch heels glistening like fool’s gold. The butterfly tattoo spanning her upper arm likewise drew curious looks, which inevitably changed to horror when the souls recognized the face imprinted within that colorful ink: their own.

Azrael:
The moment I heard Death was missing. *glares at Damien* I knew you were
behind it.

Damien:
Moi? Commit a misdeed? How could you think such a thing?

Azrael:
Right. Demons are perfect angels.

Damien:
More perfect than you, dude.

Azrael:
Your ego is astounding.

Damien:
*gestures to crotch*Only
because it matches the size of my –

Azrael:
Can we move on?!

What’s
your greatest weakness?

Azrael:
*shifts in seat* I used to have some difficulty speaking in public. Now
that I’ve been promoted to the head of the Department of Death and Dying, I’m
working on that flaw. *stops to glare at Damien, who’s silently mimicking him* Do
you have a problem?

Damien:
Dude, get over yourself. No one listens to you anyway. *turns to
interviewer, taps cheek* Greatest weakness, greatest weakness… now that’s a
toughie. Mainly because I have so many. The top two are hot cars and hot babes.
If I see a sweet car sitting all by its lonesome, it practically begs me to
take it for a spin. And what’s the fun in going for a spin in a hot car all by
yourself? So natch, I find a hot babe to share the ride. And whoo hoo, it’s
usually a really hot ride, if you
catch my drift.

Azrael:
*rolls eyes* And you claim to love Death so much.

Damien:
I do. She’s Numero Uno on the list. But she’s always busy with work. Or
whatever… *takes a sudden interest in his fingernails and hums*

Azrael:
What are you implying?

Damien:
Just that she’s a hot babe, and I’m not the only other guy hot for her. If
she’s smart, she’ll play the field – er, realm – before settling down.

Damien:
A wasted question, on him. Now me… I have some quirks for you, sweetie. We
don’t have enough time in this interview. *leers* Maybe I could show you later?
I’ll get your number.

What
would we find hidden in your closet?

Azrael:
Hidden? I hide nothing. Maybe some dust bunnies.

Damien:
*waves him away* Shush, you’re boring me to death. *leans forward* Now
things are getting interesting. In my
closet, you’ll find every sex toy imaginable. Not that I need any help getting
the ladies off, but I love ratcheting up the excitement, you know? I can show
you that too. Later. *winks*

Azrael:
*bares teeth at Damien. His wings whoosh open, and he rockets into the sky*

Damien:
*blows raspberries* Show-off. *cozies up to interviewer* Now, how about
your number? We have a lot to cover yet… Hey, where are you going? Oh,
whatever. I’ll round up some other babes. Adios! *whirls away. A shadowy cloud
fills the spot where he stood, then fades*

I love a great mix of immortals, angels demons and a bit of soul sucking when things get a little dicey. It's that zombie part of me that just pumped her fist in the air when I started reading this book. Death is kind of bitchy, but that is so part of her charm. I support bitchy. It is something I do well, if I do say so myself.

Cate Masters can craft some words. She does a great job with the edgy quality of the story, especially as you are just getting sucked in and introduced to the characters. The only thing I can really say was I wanted to be shown more things instead of being told about them. Let me see more grit. More smut. Give it to me. I can handle it! Lol. As a writer myself, this is one thing that comes with time. All the elements are there. You have characters that rock, dialogue and action that flow and a plot that works. I just want more in depth feeling and an all encompassing reading experience.

That said, this was a great book. 4/5 stars for sure. I am going to be watching for more from Ms. Masters. I love the premise of this book and the mythology was awesome. It was compelling and it was hard to put it down to do stuff like, oh...go to work...hmmm.

Thanks for being on the blog today Cate! That character interview was fun!

Author Bio:

Cate Masters loves romance with a dash of magic and mayhem! Multipublished in contemporary to historical, sweet to erotic, fantasy/dark fantasy to speculative, she sometimes mashes genres. Reviewers have described her stories as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” and “such romantic tales that really touch your soul.”

When not spending time with her family, she can be found in her lair, concocting a magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company. Look for her at http://catemasters.blogspot.com and in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.

Cate loves to hear from readers! Friend her on Facebook or Goodreads, or email her at: cate.masters AT gmail.com

Great excerpt and I really enjoyed the character interview. Such fun to find out a little more about the story that way. I also found the review very helpful. It sounds like a well-written book that has lot of action and awesome characters! Thanks for sharing.~Jess

About Me

Dana Wright has always had a fascination with things that go bump in the night. She is often found playing at local bookstores, trying not to maim herself with crochet hooks or knitting needles, watching monster movies with her husband and furry kids or blogging about books. More commonly, she is chained to her computers, writing like a woman possessed. She is currently working on several children's stories, young adult fiction, short stories and is trying her hand at poetry. She is a contributing author to Ghost Sniffer’s CYOA, Siren’s Call E-zine in their “Women in Horror” issue in February 2013 and "Revenge" in October 2013, a contributing author to Potatoes! (upcoming), Fossil Lake, Undead in Pictures, Potnia, a funny ghost story anthology by Crushing Hearts Black Butterfly Press, Dark Harvest,Wonderstruck, Shifters: A Charity Anthology, Holiday Horrors and the Roms, Bombs and Zoms Anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media. Dana has also reviewed music for Muzikreviews.com specializing in New Age and alternative music and has been a contributing writer to Eternal Haunted Summer, Nightmare Illustrated, Massacre Magazine, Pagan Living Magazine, The Were Traveler October 2013 edition: The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters, the December 2013 issue The Day the Zombies Ruled the Earth. She currently reviews music at New Age Music Reviews and Write a Music Review.